To put it in perspective, that's equivalent to everybody in Crofton, Md. (Pop: 27,348), getting a pink slip.

The company, which hasn't been able to come up with a competitor to the iPhone/iPad/mobile device space, said it expected to save $3-3.5 billion annually with the cuts beginning in 2014. HP is offering early retirement plans. It will record a pre-tax charge of $1.7 billion, plus another $1.8 billion through 2014.

The company said it plans to reinvest savings from the restructuring program back into its business units, to "drive innovation and differentiation across its core printing and personal systems businesses, as well as emerging areas."